


I'm a bad liar (and now you know)

by hyuckpack (justcallthemmarkhyuck)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Awkward Mark Lee (NCT), Cheek Kisses, Implied Sexual Content, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Mark Lee Are Best Friends, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Multi, Soft Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25170802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justcallthemmarkhyuck/pseuds/hyuckpack
Summary: "apparently my type is oblivious idiots who stalk their best friends on dates""o-oh"
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Kim Jongin | Kai, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 123





	I'm a bad liar (and now you know)

**Author's Note:**

> this was sitting in my wisps since last year and it's different from my current writing style but it's sorta cute so figured why not

Mark is old enough to understand that sexuality is a spectrum when he first meets Donghyuck. They’re both twelve then, Mark on the edge of turning thirteen and unlike Mark, who’s never really thought about his sexuality and likes girls in his class because all the other boys like girls too, Donghyuck was already a hundred percent confident that he was a guys’ guy.

  
He told people often too. He was proud of it (oh he definitely was, he was a small, loud, out and proud gay). 

  
Mark didn’t mind, really. He thought Donghyuck was pretty cool sporting his fuck you, I’m gay and I love it vibe. He didn’t mind the sleepovers or that Donghyuck lived literally next door, he didn’t mind boy-talk or any of that really. 

  
The only thing that made him regret his friendship (not really regret though, because Mark is a good best friend) was when Donghyuck opened his mouth. Donghyuck is known well for his motor-mouth and zero filter and he liked to drone on and on about Shinee and Super Junior and Mark was the poor soul who had to endure it all.

  
Mark who wasn’t a big fan of K-pop. Mark who had trouble remembering who was who and telling some of them apart because he really, never cared much for the industry.

  
Donghyuck has a careless mouth and lord knows how many secrets of other people he’s spilled to Mark during their countless sleepovers. He’s a lot of things, Donghyuck, he’s stubborn, he’s cocky, smart, witty and funny and he’s incredibly charming but his best trait of all would be his undying love, loyalty and dedication to his best friend (Mark). 

  
Somehow, when it came to things concerning Mark, Donghyuck is the most careful, the most caring, attentive and alert person in the room. He’d established that he’d gladly take a bullet for Mark any day and maybe Mark doesn’t remember why but Donghyuck remembers and it’s the reason he’s never had one bad thing to say about Mark.

  
Mark met Donghyuck when he was nearly thirteen, or that’s what he remembers. But Donghyuck met Mark a little way before that.

  
-

  
Donghyuck had been openly gay for most of his life, starting from when he was just a wee tot of about ten. Short, cute, awkward and messy but tough and proud. He was eleven, walking home from the park with his favorite pink hoodie pulled over a signature red cap with the words Super Junior printed along the border when three figures had blocked his way.

They were from his school, maybe an year older, still kids themselves but they looked far more dangerous than kids should have been. Anyway, one thing led to another and Donghyuck being Donghyuck, was never one to back down from a fight. He was smart-mouthed, quick to shun the older boys down until one of them decided to start being physical and

Donghyuck was soon being attacked three on one, being called the most awful names, being shamed for liking boys (not that he was ashamed really, Donghyuck took pride in who he was no matter what)- he’d been tackled to the floor and awaited the inevitable kick to the stomach but it never came. 

He heard grunts and shouting and he looked up to see two new boys, one who was about the same size and height as Donghyuck and another, much taller boy, older by at least three years.

They were chasing away the bullies and Donghyuck got to his feet, pulling the hood of his top over his cap to hide his face and he should’ve thanked them, but he was a kid, barely a teen and he was scared so he ran, ran until he couldn’t run anymore and after the storm in him settled, he walked home.

  
When Donghyuck saw the moving trucks unloading expensive furniture in the neighboring house nearly a week after his incident, he was not too thrilled, nor did he care really because that particular house had been having so many replacements and none of the families ever had kids his age.

  
He could see the house from his bedroom window and he looked at it often, because well, it was right there. He often read, sitting on that window-sill and looking down at the house’s garden. It was one of those days, those reading days, perched up on the windowsill, when Donghyuck let his eyes wander to his neighbor’s house and he was met with a pair of curious ones. He almost fell off the windowsill in surprise but then stared back with just as much intensity until the boy on the other side looked away.

  
It didn’t take long for Donghyuck to recognize the face. Or more accurately, the wild curly hair. And the pretty eyes too. 

  
It was the boy from the street the other day.   
The one who had spared Donghyuck from a possible kick in the ribs. He only hoped that the other boy had not caught a glimpse, not even in the slightest, of his face. 

  
Donghyuck wasn’t ashamed to be gay, he just didn’t want to be seen as weak, weak for being unable to fight back (how could he have though, it was three against one little scrawny short boy). He didn’t want their acquaintanceship to begin because one of them felt sorry for the other.

  
He wasn’t charity.

  
Luckily, Mark was too oblivious to join the dots, even if the dots were to be handed to him on a sketchbook, because luckily, Mark was a living breathing synonym for the word oblivious. This was the reason Donghyuck would take a bullet for his best friend (well one of the reasons), because even if only one of them remembered it, Mark had ‘rescued’ him, he was a hero, and so was the other, older boy.  
Donghyuck came to know, eventually, that the other boy was in fact Mark’s brother, Johnny, who also had no memory of Donghyuck during the ‘incident’.

  
Donghyuck couldn’t even remember what the bullies looked like and if they were even around still, they wouldn’t have been able to recognize Donghyuck either because after puberty had hit him like a fucking train and he had spent his coming-of-eighteen year at Jeju Island with his grandparents (Mark missed him a lot that year, they only spoke on phone calls and the ever so rare skyping, which was usually terrible because connections in the islands sucked).

  
Donghyuck came back sun-kissed, or sun-fucked more likely because he had both that sun tanned glow and post-sex glow to him, seeing as he’d also lost his virginity to a similarly sun-kissed college student from the islands named Kai (he’d recounted the story to Mark almost every night like it was a bed-time fairy tale and Mark was now used to hearing the words cock, dick and ass in their most sexual form), all year round, nearly eight years later, Donghyuck was still glowing like he was honey, thick and rich amber and sickly sweet.

  
-

  
Mark, surprisingly, was the first to say hi.  
Donghyuck had been watering his mother’s flowers and tending to his own flowers when a shadow casted over his figure that wasn’t his.

  
Mark was leaning over the fence that separated their gardens and he was wearing a denim jacket in this horrible heat and he had smiled with his big eyes and said hi in the goofiest possible way.

  
Donghyuck was still remembering the incident but he pushed it aside to greet back.

  
_Hey_

  
Mark had watched him for a solid five to ten minutes before trying to initiate conversation. There wasn’t much two eleven year olds could discuss so Mark asked Donghyuck if he liked Pokémon and when Donghyuck had furrowed his eyebrows and asked what’s that, Mark could not have been more offended.

  
They didn’t even know each other’s names yet and already Mark was a little disappointed.

  
What do you like then?

  
Donghyuck was taking off his garden gloves and Mark had jumped over the fence by now, as if he’d been invited over and was leaning against it, denim jacket hanging on the fencepost next to him.

  
_I like boys_

  
Donghyuck had told him, casually. And Donghyuck expected Mark to freak out so that they wouldn’t have to talk much again because Donghyuck didn’t know if he could be friends with someone who had seen him at his weakest (not that Mark knew it was Donghyuck though so his point is invalid but Donghyuck is Donghyuck and he’s stubborn so that’s what he thinks). But Mark’s smile hadn’t faltered though, if anything it grew.

  
_That’s cool, my brother likes boys too_.

  
\- 

  
It was this information that led to Donghyuck developing a massive crush (Not an actual heart-felt crush but the kind of crush where he openly flirted) on Mark’s older brother, Johnny. 

  
Tall, oh so tall, in a way the opposite of Mark. Johnny with his straight black hair, his deep voice, his thin striking eyes, long legs, big hands and feet and soft features when Mark was smaller, tall but not as much, wavy hair, softer voice and much sharper features, like his hit you in the face cheekbones and jaw structure, only softened by his beautiful, soft, round doe eyes. 

  
They were both inevitably handsome but Donghyuck and Mark were just friends and Mark was, so far, considerably straight so it was only rational for Donghyuck to crush on Johnny instead.

  
Not that it bothered Mark anyway, he’s gotten used to it cause Donghyuck would always be flirting with Johnny when he came over and Mark would roll his eyes (all in good humour) and groan urgh, the gays and then the two would gang up on him and roast him so Mark was pretty much immune to Donghyuck’s and Johnny’s flirting now.

  
Mark had always supported Donghyuck’s short flings and loves and he’d even driven Donghyuck to dates, consoled him after terrible ones, picked him up from parties (sometimes crying, sometimes nearly passed out). He was so used to this, so used to seeing Donghyuck date, because Donghyuck dated plenty. 

  
So obviously, it came as a surprise to both himself and Donghyuck too when they’d been binging on Legend of Ang and Mark had mumbled _I don’t think you should go on this date Hyuck._

  
Donghyuck had never hit pause so quickly. If Mark, Mark who never objected or interfered in Donghyuck’s love and dating life was telling him not to go, there had to be a good reason. Only Mark didn’t have a good reason. He only had a gut feeling, and it felt silly to say it out loud.

  
“So wait, you want me to not go because you have a gut feeling, whatever the heck that means, that it’s gonna end badly?”

  
“Okay it’s sounds stupid now that you say it, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything at all, you can go if you want to Hyuck, you’re old enough to know what you want”, Mark had groaned in embarrassment and buried his head in the cushions, telling Donghyuck to resume the series.

  
But Donghyuck insisted, as per usual.

  
“No, Mark I’m serious. This has never happened before and maybe the fact that it miraculously is now, maybe it’s a sign. You’ve never ever said anything before, I think the universe is trying to warn me”.

  
Donghyuck was a big believer in astrology and universal signs and karma and all that stuff and Mark was never one to belittle anyone’s beliefs just because he didn’t believe them himself so he allowed Donghyuck to interpret it however he wanted.

  
“If you say so Hyuck, but could you play it now? I want to see what happens next”.

  
Donghyuck had only nodded in response, very slowly, and then settled back into his prior position to resume their binge session.

  
It wasn’t until Donghyuck’s mom appeared and announced that there was someone at the door for him that he remembered he had forgotten to cancel his date plans.

  
“Oh, Mark what do I do?”

  
Donghyuck, big believer of universal signs, was still stressing out about going because of Mark’s objection earlier. So Mark does what he thinks is right to soothe his best-friend’s nerves.

  
He pulls the troubled younger boy by the arm and into a hug. It’s uncalled for, unnecessary but it eases the panic from Donghyuck’s troubled mind.

  
“You should go Hyuck, if you want to that is”, Mark says with enough confidence.

  
“Yeah?”

  
Donghyuck pouts, looking up at him in question, awaiting confirmation.

  
Mark nods again in reassurance.

  
-

  
It takes ten minutes for Mark to shoot up from Donghyuck’s bed, get into his car and follow the vehicle that Donghyuck had left in. Nine minutes if anyone is _really_ counting.

  
He follows the oddly common white four door Toyota which belonged to Jeno, the guy with the sly, too-good-to-be-true smile that Donghyuck had shown Mark a picture of.

  
He follows them all the way to the restaurant, which also seemed a too-good-to-be-true place.

  
He follows them to the club, sits at a stool where he can see them, feeling like an over-protective dad.

  
The night ends with Donghyuck actually enjoying his date, and Jeno as much as Mark hates to admit, turns out to be a decent guy. He walks Donghyuck up to his front porch and even kisses him on the cheek before turning back and heading out. 

  
Mark is leaned against the entrance to the hall, watching the exchange calmly as if he wasn’t just out being a stalker for one night. Donghyuck slumps against the closed door with the cheesiest smile Mark has ever seen. 

  
Something in Mark's chest twinges at the sight of Donghyuck smiling like that for a reason that isn’t him, but he tells himself that it’s probably the chill of air conditioning getting to him. 

  
Donghyuck’s eyes flicker to Mark, finally and his cheeks dust a shade of pink in embarrassment.

  
“Hey”, he says shyly and Mark smiles back as genuinely as he can, hesitating before asking.

“How was it?” 

Something flashes in Donghyuck’s eyes but it’s gone before Mark can even register what it is.

  
“He’s really sweet, Markie”, and that weird sharp pain in Mark’s chest intensifies, what is up with that?

  
Donghyuck’s smile falters a little then, “But I don’t know”.

  
At this, Mark relaxes, _but why though?_

  
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s an absolute sweetheart but he’s not… for me”.

  
Donghyuck has moved closer, when exactly Mark has no idea but he’s close enough for Mark to see the little reflection of the lamp light on his brown eyes, making it look like Donghyuck has stars in his eyes and Mark thinks he might as well because he looks ethereal in this lighting.

  
“Not for you?” 

  
Mark gulps when Donghyuck nods and steps closer, now Mark can clearly see the constellation of moles that occupy Donghyuck's pretty face. He stops admiring when Donghyuck’s lips part to speak.

  
“Apparently my type is oblivious idiots who stalk their best friend on dates”.

  
And his point is justified when Mark takes a minute of two of silence to realize who exactly Donghyuck is talking about. He lets out a breath of air he didn’t know he was holding and his eyes flicker everywhere around the room. Everywhere but Donghyuck.

  
“O-Oh”. Donghyuck had seen him.

  
Donghyuck shakes his head with a small sad smile, pushing gently past Mark to head to his room, leaving the older boy standing there with a sea of conflict in his heart and his head spinning with one question.

  
Donghyuck _likes_ me?

  
And Mark wants to tell himself that the utter relief that washes over him is nothing, that it’s just a coincidence, but not even oblivious idiot Mark Lee could escape this revelation. 

  
-

  
The morning that follows is unquestionably awkward. Mark had still stayed over (on the couch though, not with Donghyuck, resulting in immense back pains) because he couldn’t go home without Johnny’s endless array of questions that usually went like

  
_“Did you and Hyuckie fight again?”_

  
“No”

  
_“What did you do to upset him this time?”_

  
“Nothing, why do you always assume it’s my fault?”

  
_“Because. Are you going to make up with him anytime soon?”_

  
“None of your business Johnny, let me be”

  
And Mark just wasn’t in a mood for that fiasco.  
Mark can’t tell who’s avoiding who but they barely see each other until breakfast and while Mark pulls out a chair to sit down for his cereal, Donghyuck just grabs his fruit box from the fridge and some crackers before heading out without a single glance in Mark's direction.

  
Mark feels unwelcome. He eats his cereal, not wanting it to go to waste and heads to his own house.

  
Johnny isn’t home, thankfully, so there isn’t anyone to bombard him with an interview when he goes up to him room looking like a car wreck. 

  
He takes out his phone to check for texts but his empty lock screen mocks him with a picture of him and Donghyuck at the beach.

  
He rolls around in bed for a while, sighing and wishing he had spoken up when he could. Last night preferably or maybe even this morning at breakfast. Donghyuck wouldn’t have left if Mark had made an effort to stop him. He contemplates on whether he should text him and gets stuck in the process, because what would he even say? 

  
Mark falls asleep with his phone open on his and Donghyuck’s chat.

  
-

  
He wakes up to Donghyuck roughly shaking his shoulder and a continuous, throbbing banging in his head that prevents him from sitting up to quickly. He brings his fingers up to his temples to try and ease out the ache before finally focusing on the brown haired boy in front of him.

  
“What’s wrong?” 

  
He squints through his headache and is met with Donghyuck's mean glare.

  
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong is that you sent me a bunch of gibberish texts and didn’t answer all fifteen of my calls and had me worried out of my ass that you were in danger, god Mark you are so intolerable…”.

  
Mark’s headache becomes even more unbearable as he tries to process Donghyuck’s words because he’s talking so fast.

  
“Wait hold on, hold on, I texted you?” 

  
He asks and Donghyuck laughs bitterly before turning on his heels to leave. Only this time, Mark says something about it.

  
“Donghyuck please don’t walk out, just talk to me”, and he sounds so defeated that Donghyuck’s eyes soften at the plea. The younger sighs and takes a seat next to Mark on his bed.

  
“You probably slept on your phone and sleep texted me some random letters and symbols. I thought something was wrong and tried calling you so many times after that and you didn’t pick up, so I called Johnny and he said he hadn’t been home since last night and I was so worried until I got here and saw your dumbass passed out on the bed”

  
Donghyuck’s hands find their way to Mark's and he entangles their fingers together, trying to be subtle about it but horribly failing because he’s turning quite red while doing it.

  
“Hey, I’m still here”, Mark says dumbly, waving his free hand in front of Donghyuck’s face to try and lighten the mood but Donghyuck remains unamused.

  
“Yeah, no shit”, Donghyuck scoffs, rolling his eyes, “unfortunately you still are”.

  
His words don’t even hurt Mark though, not even a little because Donghyuck’s grip on Mark's hand tightens while saying it and it’s all Mark can think about.

  
What happens shortly after is purely driven by Mark's instincts and he figures it had been the right thing to do because Donghyuck’s eyes widen comically and he brings his hand up to his cheek slowly, trying to process if he was imagining it or if Mark had actually just kissed him on the cheek. His expression is adorable, so much so that Mark has to hold back from going awhhh.

  
Mark is better with words in written form than he is with speaking so he hopes that the gesture is enough to make Donghyuck understand what he wants to say.

  
I like you, Donghyuck.

  
He keeps holding Donghyuck’s hand, comforting him with a slow caress of his thumb on the back of Donghyuck’s hand until he’s calmed down from the sudden kiss on the cheek.

  
“Stop being so cute, Donghyuck, it’s not your thing”, Mark grins and Donghyuck immediately frowns, pushing Mark hard on the chest. Maybe it’s because Mark is still sleepy, he falls back onto the mattress but his entangled hands bring Donghyuck forward with him. 

  
He knows Donghyuck can stop falling, hold himself up with his hands and break the fall if he wants to because Mark isn’t even pulling that hard, but Donghyuck doesn’t. 

  
And somewhere in Mark’s head (as if Donghyuck’s almost-confession last night wasn’t enough) it translates to I like you too, Mark Lee.

  
“Shut up, I’m so cute and you know it”, then Donghyuck’s frown changes into a teasing smirk and now it’s Mark's turn to hide his face in his pillow with a groan when Donghyuck says, “Don’t you, Mark?” 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!  
> and remember, kudos and comments make a writer happy and fuel their love to write more.


End file.
